


The Cookie Crumble

by wyattnash



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 07:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21175976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyattnash/pseuds/wyattnash
Summary: one shot inspired by the haunting look upon Alice's face at the end of 4x03





	The Cookie Crumble

**Author's Note:**

> This is embarrassing. I wrote it on my phone and then copied and pasted it from my mac. Unfortunately, I originally published this without double-checking the entire work was uploaded. I have now fixed it. Sorry to the ten people who read this before the ending was added. LMAO

As soon as the bus safely zoomed out of the premises. A team of highly trained professionals stormed the motel on a mission to find Edgar Evernever. This was their last chance to take down the man they’d been trying to stop for so long. It felt like an eternity for Alice between the sound of her gun going off, and when she was forced to her knees, revolver dropping to the ground in a clang. She could hear Betty pleading with the fbi, trying to explain the situation but the woman just didn’t have it in her to fight back. 

The cuffs weren’t gentle, but Alice felt numb. She never wanted to kill a man. She just wanted to save her daughters. 

Edgar laid there cold and lifeless and Alice didn’t have one ounce of regret for sealing his fate. 

She was hauled up off of the concrete, and turned around. 

“Hey take the bracelets off.” Charles said as he stepped out from the stair well. “She’s our informant.” He said to the agent escorting his mother. 

Alice dropped her hands to her sides as she was freed from her shackles. 

She had killed a man. 

An evil man. 

Yet he was still a man. 

“Are you alright?” Charles asked gently as he moved closer, his younger sister following his lead. 

“He wouldn’t surrender.” Alice whispered in disbelief. She didn’t want to be a murderer. She didn’t want to kill a man. The last dead body she had seen had been the man bludgeoned to death in her kitchen, something she never wanted to be reminded of again. 

“Come on, let’s get you something to drink.” Charles said, placing a guiding hand on her back. 

Alice’s legs moved on their own. She couldn’t function, her thoughts scattered ever so messily in her mind. 

Betty refused to leave her side as they descended the stairs together as a family. 

Alice tried to concentrate. She really did. All she seemed to hear was white noise. She could see her son talking, but his words just didn’t hit her. 

He had taken care of her. Made her a herbal tea, sat her down comfortably, and had medical staff tend to her wounds. 

All of that took place in silence. That’s how she remembered it. All she could think about was the ringing in her ears. The vision of Edgar’s body floundering backwards until he was a mess of skin and bone on the ground, lifeless limbs sprawled out like a rag doll. 

This had never been the plan. She had wanted the man to rot in prison, to pay a penance for what he had done to her family, to all of the families he had destroyed. She wanted him to pay the price, but that price had never been the fate she has thrust upon him. 

Betty was questioned outside. An agent tried to piece together exactly what had happened, but the girl hadn’t been on the rooftop when it all went down. She hadn’t seen. She hadn’t hurt. She hadn’t witnessed. That was all Alice. Alice was the last person to see the man alive. 

Charles offered her a cookie. She took it in her hand and let the warmth of her palm melt the chocolate until all she felt was a crumbly gooey mess between her fingers. 

She wasn’t hungry. She barely touched her tea. All she felt was empty. 

A man was dead. She killed a man. That man was Edgar Evernever. 

Even in death he was taunting her thoughts. He had taken Polly. He had taken organs. He had taken innocence. 

She had taken him. 

“Ms Smith. We need to speak with you about what happened.” An agent spoke those words and Alice stared at him blankly. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t know what she could say that wasn’t obvious. She shot a man. That part was evident.

Evel Knievel fell back and hit his head. Bullet wound spat blood down the front of his white daredevil jumpsuit. It wasn’t white when they found him. The stain was engrained into her brain. When she closed her eyes all she could see was the red, white and blue. 

She couldn’t speak. She opened her mouth to tell the man Edgar was dead. But the words refused to spill out. 

Instead, her hot tea dripped down the front of her jeans like a trickling stream. 

“Mom!” Betty exclaimed as she moved to steady her hand, taking the cup from her grasp. 

She still felt numb. 

That didn’t change. Not even when Charles made everyone leave the room. He kneeled in front of his mother and looked her in the eyes. 

He watched her. Alice knew he did, but all she could see was Edgar. Dead Edgar. 

“I know this is hard for you, but those agents aren’t going to be able to close this case until you tell them what happened. I’ll give you as much time as I can, but you’ll have to tell them something.” He whispered, placing a gentle hand upon her knee. 

Alice nodded ever so slightly. Words still wouldn’t come. 

“What if she wrote it down?” Betty suggested, trying to help her mother as best she could. 

Charles nodded and moved to find a scrap of paper, and a pen. 

Alice didn’t want to write anything down. She just wanted to be left alone. She needed to silence her thoughts. Wipe her memories clean. 

“Here you go Alice.” Charles said gently as he slid a pencil in between her fingers. “Just write down what you remember, and then I can take you home.” 

She tried to smile but her lips didn’t move. 

The last time she genuinely smiled, she couldn’t even remember it. 

“Just give her some time.” Betty said to her older brother. “She’s been through a lot.”

Charles nodded. He understood. He just knew that this wasn’t entirely over, despite Edgar’s current status. 

He stood by the window and watched as agents escorted Evelyn through the courtyard. He wore a small smile. They didn’t get to take Edgar down, but his wife was going away for a very long time.

“Are those your clothes?” He asked his sister who had moved beside him in an equally as nosy fashion. 

“I had to improvise.” Betty shrugged, eyes following the woman who was pushed into the back of a cop car. 

“Maybe you should call home.” Charles suggested, turning to look at Betty. 

“I don’t think she wants to see him.” Betty whispered. 

“Maybe not. But it might help.” He said, raising his eyebrows. 

There were comings and goings. Alice heard many voices and footsteps but her eyes remained staring at the plain wall across from her. She finally opened her palm, the remnants of her cookie crumbled out onto the floor, and she made no effort to wipe her hand clean. 

“Alice.” FP said gently as he walked into the room behind her. 

She didn’t know if it was really him so she didn’t turn toward the voice. 

When his face appeared in front of her. Her lips started to quiver, eyes welled up in an eruption of hot tears. 

“It’s okay.” He whispered gently, placing both his hands on her knees. “You’re okay.” He told her as their eyes locked. “I’m taking you home.”


End file.
